A Team within a Team: Relating Coaching Concepts to Professional Learning Communities in Schools

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) Operation in Schools

“…Effective PLC operation is predicated upon teachers and school leaders having a shared vision to improve student outcomes (DuFour & Eaker, 1998,Hord & Sommers, 2008, Van Meeuwen et al, 2020, Vescio et al, 2008). With this shared vision in place, teachers in a PLC direct their attention towards improving instructional practices to enhance student outcome data (Beddoes et al, 2020; Vescio et al, 2008).…”

“…Social, economic, and political pressures are evident in educational reform movements as the effects of increased globalisation encroach upon the daily operations of teachers and their classrooms. Some have argued that, historically, attempts at education reform have mostly been ineffective, with a multiplexity of issues discussed as contributing factors: a non-collaborative school culture (Apple, 2012, Burns et al, 2018; the propensity of teachers to operate individually and independently (Mitchell & Sackney, 2011); ineffective teacher professional learning activities (Admiral et al, 2019, Edmunds, 2005; and the de-skilling of teachers' practice in combination with an intensified work load (Day & Sachs, 2004) to name a few.…”

“…Consequently, professional learning is considered an ongoing expectation for teachers as the profession pushes towards an increased level of professionalism amidst a new global landscape (Day & Sachs, 2004, Mitchell & Sackney, 2011, Vangrieken et al, 2017. This push aims to define teachers less as functionaries and more as professionals, placing the practice of teaching alongside that of more esteemed professions such as medicine, law, accounting, and architecture (Apple, 2012). Although the reasoning for the move towards increased professionalism is to enhance the quality of teachers in the profession, most education reform initiatives have traditionally been administered through a top-down approach with little attention paid to teacher collaboration and learning (Apple, 2012;Fullan et al, 2015).…”

“…This push aims to define teachers less as functionaries and more as professionals, placing the practice of teaching alongside that of more esteemed professions such as medicine, law, accounting, and architecture (Apple, 2012). Although the reasoning for the move towards increased professionalism is to enhance the quality of teachers in the profession, most education reform initiatives have traditionally been administered through a top-down approach with little attention paid to teacher collaboration and learning (Apple, 2012;Fullan et al, 2015). The effectiveness of top-down approaches to education reform have been deemed ineffective over the last decades (Apple, 2012;Fullan et al, 2015;Hardy & Melville, 2019;Mitchell & Sackney, 2011;Nielsen & Lockhart, 2020), which has resulted in the search for new methods of professional learning for teachers within schools.…”

“…Although the reasoning for the move towards increased professionalism is to enhance the quality of teachers in the profession, most education reform initiatives have traditionally been administered through a top-down approach with little attention paid to teacher collaboration and learning (Apple, 2012;Fullan et al, 2015). The effectiveness of top-down approaches to education reform have been deemed ineffective over the last decades (Apple, 2012;Fullan et al, 2015;Hardy & Melville, 2019;Mitchell & Sackney, 2011;Nielsen & Lockhart, 2020), which has resulted in the search for new methods of professional learning for teachers within schools. Fullan et al (2015) remarked that this has meant a move from focussing on external accountability measures to a (re)focus on building an internal accountability system within the teaching profession; an approach that focuses on collective responsibility at the local school level and the building of the professional capital of all teachers and leaders throughout broader education systems.…”